Stronger, Better, Greener. Kiowa County Schools: Greensburg, KS

After a two-mile wide tornado plowed through Greensburg, Kan., in 2007, the town and school district committed to rebuilding a model green community, focusing on passive building systems and integrated design. The school also functions as a badly needed social hub for this reemerging town. Renewable electricity is provided by an on-site wind generator and off-site city wind farm. The building incorporates reclaimed cypress from another natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina. The school uses only 29.2 kBtu/ft2 per year, less than half the energy used by a school built to code.